continued from Gearing Up For Nicaragua

Billed by many as the "Next Belize" and hidden away from the limelight of Costa Rica, Nicaragua has not had its fair share of tourism, thank God! Here are my pre-departure details...

Research

I was scouring the blogosphere and the ever expanding universe of the internet and I decided that I was going to use Google Maps as my first mode of exploration. I began by looking for turquoise waters...I wanted to go somewhere far away with regards to culture and climate yet geographically manageable from the US. Southeast Asia was out of the question, South America didn't make my list because it would cost the same for me to go to the Philippines. Central America became my target.

A lot of people have been raving about other countries in Central America like Costa Rica and how its ecotourism scene is at the cutting edge of travel. Well, the words 'raving' and 'cutting edge' were enough to deter me simply because I know that it means a lot of this:

"Yeah man, we slept in cheap bungalows and really got to experience the culture y'know - zip lining through the jungle and guided treks where the guy was like 'oh look at that; a mushroom!' and walked away (wink-wink). Hung out at the beach and ate boiled veggies all day."

Nah, not for me. Not saying it wouldn't be fun but it wasn't the scene I was looking for. I was looking for empty beaches, few to no tourists, good eats for cheap, eco minded travel (not because that is the focus but because there isn't any electricity), and most importantly a unique culture. Some of my friends threw the word 'Rustic' around but to me that word seems to fall short. I prefer 'underdeveloped.'

Just a Little Background

So I found Las Islas Maize in Nicaragua, in English they are the Corn Islands. More specifically I will be staying on Little Corn Island. Empty beaches? check. Few to no tourists? check. Good eats for cheap? check, check. Eco minded travel? Oh yes. A unique culture? Indeed.

Little Corn Island has no cars, no paved roads and no electricity except for some places which are solar powered. The water has 30 feet visibility and the coral reef is 12-18 feet from the surface. The people there relate more to English speaking Caribbean culture than they do with the Spanish speaking mainlanders. This has a lot to do with the history and something we can delve into later.

I will be staying at Ensuenos, a collection of bungalows made from driftwood and such which has washed ashore over the years. I am hoping to get the bungalow with solar power just so I can charge my camera batteries. As I was requesting availability I was simply told to come by since November is an "unusually quiet" time on Little Corn.

I have stumbled upon tales of amazing food for very little money, something I would like to discover myself before re-telling. Needless to say I will be on a strict seafood diet pretty much the entire length of my stay.

Getting There

I am leaving from Washington, DC and flying into Miami and from Miami I continue on to Managua. My flight gets in just as the last flight to the islands takes off, therefore I will be spending my first night in Managua, the capitol. I hear that there was a time when you could get to the islands from the US in one straight shot but because of route cuts this is no longer possible. So, instead I will be taking the earliest flight the next day.

There is only one domestic airline that can take you to the Corn Islands called La Costena. Two flights daily each about an hour and a half with one stop over. This flight takes you directly to Big Corn Island from which I will be on a 30-45 min. boat ride to Little Corn.

Total cost round trip with accommodations: $700.00 USD

See you next week.

I leave for Nicaragua on the 26th of November to return on the 2nd of December. I spent nearly two months researching where I wanted to go and I finally found somewhere amazing on the less popular Caribbean side. The issue I am having now is, how do I prepare for this trip? Well, since I will be filming on an island my main concerns are keeping my gear safe, dry, well hidden and most importantly, keep my gear from screaming out "STEAL ME!!"

As most of you can see from the badge on the top right of the blog (and the one below), I am now the lead editor for UpTake.com's Beach Blog. Since I don't want to alienate any of you I wanted to link some of my work on here. UpTake.com has become the "travel industry’s deepest and broadest database of hotels and attractions has surpassed all other online travel search engines in terms of indexed sources, products, and opinions."

Enjoy...

The Outer Banks of North Carolina
The beach culture in North Carolina’s Outer Banks reflects a strong family atmosphere. Big umbrellas and beach chairs are everywhere complete with coolers, stereos, sand castle molds and beach balls. The cool Atlantic is a fantastic reprieve after lying out in the sun and relaxing.

Beaches on Sanibel Island, Florida
Sanibel Island, Florida has some of the most pristine white sand beaches in all of the Sunshine State. The picturesque contrast of white sands, blue waters and green vegetation allow for stunning photography and the calm, warm, blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico makes these beaches very romantic getaways.

Assateague Island, Maryland
Assateague is quite simply home to one of my favorite beaches in Maryland’s eastern shore. It is an island facing the Atlantic and is only four hours away from Washington, DC. The beach here on Assateague is quiet and the water is cool. The shifting sand dunes which surround the beach provide a serene backdrop as you lay under the sun’s rays.

Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii
It is common knowledge that locals know where the best beaches are, such was the case for Waikiki Beach during a time when Hawaiian royalty ruled the islands. Waikiki was chosen as the site for the Iolani Palace inhabited by King Kalakaua, it is the only piece of royal real estate in all of the United States. Today Waikiki is one of the most famous beaches in the world, primarily because it is one of those beaches that you never forget - even if you have only seen it in a photograph.

After researching surf camps from the US to Asia I found that it can be as expensive as $150 per hour or as cheap as $50 a day. I am all about added value and when I stumbled upon Kosrae Surf Tours I thought that this would be an awesome chance for both established and amateur surfers to save cash and stay on an amazing island.

The island formerly known as Kusaie is one of the four Micronesian states which make up the Federated States of Micronesia. Needless to say, Kosrae is the image of a tropical island that appears in many peoples minds whenever they hear the words tropical and island next to each other.

Kosrae Surf Tours has been working alongside the Micronesian government on creating an ecotourism initiative focused on controlling the overcrowding of this pristine paradise. By partnering up with Treelodge Resort, an eco-lodge nestled near an ancient mangrove forest and a lagoon, Kosrae Surf Tours is offering surf camps at $150 per day with an instructor or $100 without. This rate includes accommodation, food, land and boat transfers, surfer guides, free optional activities such as all day snorkeling trips and bottom fishing, kayaking, jungle hikes and anthropological site tours.

To learn more about Kosrae, go to http://www.kosrae.com/, http://www.kosraesurftours.com/, or http://www.divekosrae.com/.

On occasion I find myself in a place somewhere between cloud nine and a thrill. Chicago was just that for me. Four days in the windy city and I am close to convincing myself that winters there are not as bad as people make them out to be. Walking in a metropolis with amazing architecture and having the sense of being somewhere with so much more to it than simply a gathering of different faces made me feel as if though I could be myself without being lost or ostracized.

I have lived most of my life in places people refer to as cultural melting pots. As one local in Chicago put it "Remember; Chi Town is not a melting pot." Everything has its place, cultures here and there are sown into one giant quilt - but it makes sense. It makes sense like the relationship this beautiful city has with its notorious corruption. All of these striking contrasts shine brightly together, like thousands of pixels bursting with their own individual colors, creating one giant familiar smiling face overlooking Millennium Park.

I was all smiles in Chicago. Brunch in Wicker Park at the Bongo Room followed by a walk and people watching while Heretics by Andrew Bird played in my head. Mini cupcakes in the Lakeview neighborhood after hunting down the closest cup of Intelligentsia coffee (not limited to Chicago I know, but it is such great coffee its worth mentioning). Bright eyes while walking into The Drake, goosebumps with my martini and live Jazz in the Back Room- I couldn't help but smile.